Senegal plans to expand social grants to one million beneficiaries by 2025
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Prime Minister Al Ahminou Lo announced that Senegal will increase the number of social grant recipients to 400,000 this year and to one million by next year.
The government aims to prioritize social safety nets during a budget restructuring process. This expansion relies on the National Unique Registry to identify eligible households and will target 469,497 families by 2026. The government doubled the credits for this program from 35 billion to 70 billion francs CFA.
To fund these social aids and manage energy inflation, the state secured 75 billion francs CFA for energy and 50 billion francs CFA for social grants from the World Bank. Marie Angélique Diouf, the Minister of Family, stated that the government will begin paying arrears before the end of the month. Critics like Amadou Ba expressed concern over the sustainability of the program, noting that funding for grants through 2029 totals 490 billion francs CFA.
To offset these costs, the government reduced central administration operating expenses by 180 billion francs CFA and cut spending on supplies and ceremonies by 50% to 80%.
